Nilesh Rakshala, an ABVP activist had complained against the school over a play staged by students, alleging that it insulted PM Modi.
Karnataka High court rejected two petitions in the Mysore Sandal Scam case (Wikimedia)
The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the sedition FIR filed against the management of a school in Bidar for staging a play against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar, at the Dharwad bench of the high court, passed the order quashing the FIR registered by the police against four people of the management of the Shaheen school in Bidar in 2020.
The four were charged under Sections 504 (insulting someone intentionally), 505(2), 124A (sedition), and 153A (causing disharmony between religious groups), read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Nilesh Rakshala, an Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist, had complained against the school on 26 January, 2020, after a play was staged by the students of Classes 4, 5 and 6, alleging that it insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The complaint alleged the play was promoting “anti-national activities” and “spreading negative opinion” about parliamentary laws.
The play was staged in the school on 21 January that year, and resulted in a controversy after a video of it was uploaded online by a parent.
On January 30, 2020, the school’s headmistress and the mother of a girl student who had said a dialogue that perceived as “demeaning” to Prime Minister Modi were taken into custody.
On 14 February, 2020, a sessions court ordered their release.
The students, who participated in the play also were questioned by the police, which was widely criticised by activists and others.
The citizenship law was amended on 11 December, 2019, to give citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan if they have lived in India for six years and entered the nation by 31 December 2014.
However, persecuted Muslims were explicitly excluded from this benefit.
The NRC (National Register of Citizens) was to be maintained by the Indian government of all legal citizens of India, and it has so far only been created for the state of Assam.
If implemented countrywide, each and every individual would need to provide a prescribed set of documents before a specified cutoff date to be included in it. The NRC was also widely seen as a means to target Muslims.
Following this, there were country-wide protests against the CAA and the proposed NRC, criticising them for discrimination based on religion, particularity for excluding Muslims.
While the order of quashing was dictated by the high court on Wednesday, 14 June, a copy of the judgement is awaited.
(With PTI inputs)
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